As Obookiah, at the time of his entrance into the school at Cornwall, had arrived at an age of considerable maturity, it may be proper that a more particular description should now be given of his person and character.

He was considerably above the ordinary size: but little less than six feet in height, and in his limbs and body proportionably large. His form, which at sixteen was awkward and unshapen, had become erect, graceful, and dignified.

His countenance had lost every mark of dulness; and was, in an unusual degree, sprightly, and intelligent. His features were strongly marked. They were expressive of a sound and penetrating mind. He had a piercing eye, a prominent Roman nose, and a projecting chin.

His complexion was olive, varied equally from the blackness of the African, and the redness of the Indian. His hair was black,
worn short, and dressed after the manner of the Americans.

In his disposition he was amiable and affectionate. His temper was mild. Passion was not easily excited, nor long retained Revenge, or resentment, it if presumed, was never known to be cherished in his heart.

He loved his friends, and was grateful for the favours which he received from them. In his journal and letters are found frequent expressions of affection and gratitude to those who had been his benefactors.

To families in which he had lived, or to individuals who had been his particular patrons, he felt an ardent attachment. One of the latter, who had been separated from him for a considerable time, he met with great delight; …

… and after the first customary salutations, said to him, ‘I want to see you great while: you don’t know how you seem to me: you seem like father, mother, brother, all.’

In his understanding, Obookiah excelled ordinary young men. His mind was not of a common cast. It was such, that, with proper culture, it might have become a mind of the first order.

Its distinguishing traits were sound common sense, keen discernment, and an inquisitiveness or enterprise which disposed him to look as far as his mind could reach into every subject that was presented to his attention.

By his good sense he was accustomed to view subjects of every kind in their proper light; to see things as they are. He seldom misconceived or misjudged.

By his companions his counsel was sought, and regarded as decisive. He had that clear sense of propriety with regard to his own conduct and the conduct of others, which always commands the respect or excites the fear of those who behold it.

Had he been disposed to cultivate a talent for this purpose, he would have become one of the severest of critics upon the manners and conduct of those around him.

Few persons have a deeper insight into the characters of men, or have the power of forming a more just estimate of them, by
their words and actions, than he had.

Few are more capable of perceiving the exact import of language, or are less liable to be deceived as to its real meaning, by a designed ambiguity of terms.

His inquisitiveness existed in relation to all subjects of interest, and disposed him to make himself acquainted with every thing that was known by others, and to discover whatever was within hill reach. The trait was exhibited, especially, in his character as a scholar.

His inquisitive mind was not satisfied with pursuing the usual round of study, but he was disposed to understand critically every
branch of knowledge to which he attended. For this reason, his progress in his studies was not rapid – but as a scholar he was industrious, ingenious and thorough.

His mind was also inventive. After having acquired some slight knowledge of the English language in its grammatical construction, he entered upon the project of reducing to system his own native language.

As it was not a written language, but lay in its chaotic state, every thing was to be done. With some assistance he had made considerable progress towards completing a grammar, a dictionary, and a spelling-book. He had also translated into his native language the whole of the book of Genesis.

These specimens of his industry and ingenuity, when seen, administer severe reproof to the sloth and dulness of most persona of much greater age, and of advantages far superior to his own.

When Obookiah became a member of the Foreign Mission School, he had attended to all the common branches of English education.

In reading, writing, and spelling, he was perhaps as perfect as most young men of our country, of the same age and with common opportunities.

He wrote a legible, manly hand, and acquired the habit of writing with considerable rapidity. He had at this time studied the English Grammar so far as to be able to parse most sentences with readiness. He understood the important rules in common Arithmetic, and had obtained considerable knowledge of Geography.

He had studied also one book of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry, and of his own accord, without a regular instructer, he had acquired such knowledge of the Hebrew, that he had been able to read several chapters for the Hebrew Bible, and had translated a few passages into his native language.

He had a peculiar relish for the Hebrew language, and from its resemblance to his own, acquired it with great facility.

The winter before he came to the school he commenced the study of Latin. This, he pursued principally after he became a member of the Institution.

In his manners, Obookiah was habitually grave and reserved. In the presence of his friends, however, his conversation was often sprightly, and rendered particularly entertaining, by a fondness for humour, for which he was distinguished.

This he oftener exhibited by a quick perception and relish for it in others, than by actually displaying it in himself. Yet he sometimes gave evidence in his own remarks, of possessing no small degree of genuine wit.

When conversing with his companions in their native language, he frequently afforded them much amusement by the pleasant and humorous cast of his conversation.

The customary deportment of Obookiah, however, was serious, and dignity strikingly characterized his manners. Few young men, it is presumed, command so much respect from persons of every age and character.

Notwithstanding the familiarity which he used with his companions, he maintained an influence over them, becoming the relation of an elder brother, or even that of a respected parent.

In his intercourse with them the dignity of hill character was peculiarly visible. A motion of his head often made known to them his will, and obtained the compliance which he desired.

His manners had become in a considerable degree refined. A gentleman of respectability who visited Cornwall, and had a particular interview with him, observed, that he had met with but few persons of any country, more gentlemanly in their manners in intelligent and interesting in their conversation.

Obookiah was a decided and consistent Christian. His conduct was habitually under the influence of principles of piety. He manifested a strong interest in the general prosperity of religion, and expressed in his conversation, as well as his letters and diary …

… ardent desires for the salvation of his fellowmen and especially of his countrymen, for whom he fervently prayed, and in whose behalf he often requested the earnest prayers of his friends. (All text is from Memoirs of Obookiah)

In the years following his arrival in New England in the summer of 1809, ‘Ōpūkaha’ia would become integral to the founding of the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut.

‘Ōpūkaha‘ia became legendary for his earnest pursuit of an American education. He captured the hearts and Christian spirits of the New Haven community, where he first resided.

‘Ōpūkaha‘ia’s situation encouraged his hosts and community members to explore the possibility of creating a formal school in the US for students like him: “heathens” who were stranded in the US but who were interested in being “civilized” and “saved” nonetheless.

The Foreign Mission School was instituted in the autumn of 1816, and opened in the beginning of May, 1817. “There belong to it a commodious edifice for the school, a good mansion house, with a barn, and other out-buildings, and a garden, for the Principal; a house, barn, &c with a few acres of good tillage land for the Steward and Commons …”

“… all situated sufficiently near to each other and to the Congregational meeting-house, in the south parish of Cornwall, Connecticut, and eighty acres of excellent wood land, about a mile and a half distant.” (American Missionary Register, 1821)

The Foreign Mission School was a religious experiment. Instead of sending missionaries to foreign lands, it brought students to America.

It was believed that a mission school in religiously pious New England would be more efficient and effective than traditional mission schools established within ‘heathen’ settings because it removed these young students from the pagan influences of their native communities.

At the beginning of the school’s tenure, ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia was considered a leader of the student body, excelling in his studies, expressing his fondness for and understanding of the importance of the agricultural labor, and qualifying for a full church membership due to his devotion to his new faith.

Between 1819 and 1826, there were altogether ninety-seven students on the official record. The ages of these ninety-seven students ranged from ten to thirty.

Among them there were forty-three Indians, nineteen Hawaiians, thirteen Americans, five Chinese, three Marquesans, two Greeks, two Jews, two Malays, two Tahitians, one Bengalese, one Hindu, one Javanese, one New Zealander, one Portuguese, and one Scotch.

The year 1819 saw increased diversification of the student body as several Cherokee students arrived in Cornwall. Over the span of its operational years, the FMS taught Native Americans from fourteen tribes: one Abenaquis, eleven Cherokees, five Choctaws, five Delawares, one Mexican, one Mohegan, one Narragansett, two Ojibwas, two Omahas, three Oneidas, three Osages, two Senecas, four Stockbridges, and two Tuscaroras.

Due to the variety in national background, the students’ prior experiences were also enormously diverse. The majority came from seafaring careers; however, others were military personnel, farmers, barbers, coopers, servants and students from other schools.

The object of the School as set forth in the Constitution, is – “The education in our own country of Heathen Youths, in such manner, as, with subsequent professional instruction will qualify them to become useful Missionaries, Physicians, Surgeons, School Masters, or Interpreters …”

“… and to communicate to the Heathen Nations such knowledge in agriculture and the arts, as may prove the means of promoting Christianity and civilization.” (Missionary Herald, January 1821)

Students rose around 5 or 6 am and ate breakfast together at 7 am in the dining room of the steward’s house. Daily classes ran from 9 am to noon, and again from 2 to 5 pm, with all sessions taking place on the first floor of the main school building just across the street from the steward’s house.

Curricula operated at various levels, as some of the pupils were more advanced in their studies while others where just learning basic literacy – the more advanced students helped teach the others.

Academics were balanced with mandatory outdoor labor. Students were tasked with the maintenance of the school’s agricultural plots and assigned to labor in the fields “two (and a half) days” a week and “two at a time.” Additionally, the school enforced strict rules for students’ social lives and study times.

The months of May and September included scheduled vacation times for the school’s boarded students; however, only certain pupils were authorized by the administration to “go abroad.”

Much of the Foreign Mission School’s campus buildings were acquired through donations. The citizenry of Cornwall donated fourteen acres of land as well as the building that would become the main educational site, which had been built in 1797 as a school house.

The ground floor of the school building housed one large classroom, while the second floor was refurbished for students’ quarters. Located near this school building was the Principal’s house. Purchased in 1815, the Principal’s house was acquired before the establishment of the school was complete.

The third of the main campus buildings, and certainly the most social and vibrant, was the Steward’s house. This building was constructed in 1814 by architect Eber Maxfield and was sold to the school. The exchange of property included 18-more acres that were used for agriculture by the students and staff.

As a site for regular and informal interactions between students and Cornwall residents, the Federal-style farmhouse (built 1814) served as the steward’s family home, the school dining hall, a boarding house and a nurse room for sick students. (Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation)

According to the school ‘constitution,’ the role of the Steward was to “superintend the agricultural interests of the school,” though the actual responsibilities necessitated far more involvement with both the school’s operations and the students’ daily lives.

Over time, the Steward’s role expanded to include counseling and skills training. The Steward was expected to reside in the Steward’s House on the school campus. Thus, because of the consistent level of daily activity that mixed different communities within this house, the Steward remained abreast of the major events and social issues happening within the student body.

Steward’s duties were broadened to include supervising the school’s landed properties, training the scholars in the art of agriculture, bookkeeping and managing the FMS accounts, assuring a steady supply of firewood, buying and selling livestock, arranging travel for staff and students, providing the students with clothing, and hosting visitors, among others tasks.

Over time, there was an increased the level of care given to the students outside of their academic activities and instituted greater involvement between the steward’s family and the student body. For example, the steward’s wife was in charge of the kitchen and cooking.

Daily, she prepared bread and meals for all of the students. She also outfitted the students with new clothes and tended to the laundry and repair of these items. And, she was also primarily in charge of the students’ medical care.

Whenever one of the students fell ill, “he was moved into the Steward’s house” to live with the family for as long as was necessary for recovery. These duties also fell to daughters of the steward, who were effectively housewives in training.

The year the school opened, it housed twelve students. Enrollment doubled to twenty-four by the second year. Four students left as seven others joined in the school’s third year, bringing the enrollment to twenty-seven.

In the fourth and fifth years, enrollment rose to twenty-nine and thirty-five students, respectively. By the seventh year, however, the student body dropped to twenty-four. The school experienced another spike in enrollment in its eighth year with thirty-six pupils from seventeen different nations.

In its ninth year, the school’s population once again decreased, this time to twenty-five. By the time the school closed in 1826, only fourteen students remained.

Operated from 1817 to 1827, the Foreign Mission School remains the first and last experiment in a domestically located “foreign” mission and represents educational and social politics concerning racial tolerance, Asian and Native American migration, and American identity in the early 19th century.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mission (ABCFM) “decided to establish a school in this country to train the natives of non-European races to become missionaries to their own peoples.”

“It was set up in (Cornwall) because of the salubrious climate, the remoteness from city allurements, the excellent character of the townspeople, the persuasion of the pastor .. and the donations of Cornwall citizens.”

“In the ten years of its existence about one hundred students attended, including forty-three American Indians, thirteen Americans (white), and twenty Hawaiians; the rest mainly other natives of the Pacific, including two Chinese.”

“Support for the school was widespread, coming not only from the inhabitants of Cornwall, but from sympathetic donors elsewhere in Connecticut—and from Massachusetts and New York as well. Those who could not give cash gave clothing and provisions; in addition, the students worked at nearby farms to help support themselves.” (Mitchell quoted by Schutz)

A notable student there was ‘Ōpūkaha‘ia, who noted, “Our school is going on very regularly, and the scholars are making some progress in their studies. One of the members is become new born in Christ since he has been here, and I trust there is no small degree of happiness. He is now rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God”. (‘Ōpūkaha‘ia Memoirs)

“While, on the one hand, there were instances of a conscientious application to study and to all the means of moral and religious improvement, it was cause of regret, on the other, that some of the beneficiaries were indolent and inattentive to the regulations of the institution.”

“As to the studies, which have been pursued, they have been extremely various, according to the previous advantages and proficiency of the learners.”

“… and as but few were pursuing the same studies, at the same time, the labor of instruction has ever been much greater than, in other circumstances, it would have been. (Report of the ABCFM, 16th Annual Meeting, 1825)

One student, referenced as Mak-oo-wi-he-na from Owhyee (the Island of Hawai‘i), was referred to as David Brainerd (named for the famous early missionary to the Native American Indians, David Brainerd).

“In tracing events connected with (his) life … we are led gratefully to adore that Providence, which brought him from his native heathen country to this land of gospel light. When he engaged as a sailor to come to this land, his object was worldly gratification.”

“Totally ignorant of the unseen hand that directed his course, and of the immense mercy designed for him, in the eternal purpose of God, he landed in New-York in 1819.”

“From thence he went to Boston. There, meeting religious people who manifested special friendship for him, he by their assistance went to West-Brookfield, Mass. to be instructed.”

“Here it pleased the Saviour, as is believed, to manifest himself unto his soul. From Brookfield he came to the Foreign Mission School, in the summer of 1822, retaining still his religious feelings. In Aug. 1823, he was received into the church in Cornwall, and baptized by the name of David Brainerd.”

“He has been studious, and diligent in duty, his deportment amiable, and his life such as becomes the followers of Christ. He felt much for his countrymen, and expressed desires that he might communicate the gospel to them.”

“His teachers and the friends of missions, indulged a hope that his pious desires might, in due time be gratified. But infinite Wisdom has not thus ordained. In the course of last Winter, he was arrested by disease which proved to be the consumption (tuberculosis).”

“He submitted calmly, and interceded with God for his country. His mind was serene in expectation of death, and his christian hope remained steadfast to the end. While on the bed of languishment, he, like Obookiah, prayed and conversed upon religion with those around him.”

“On the day of his death he took affectionate leave of his companions, and resigned his spirit into the hands of his Saviour.” (The Guardian & Monitor, June 1825) Mak-oo-wi-he-na – David Brainard – died April 6, 1825.

On October 29, 1816, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) established the Foreign Mission School as a seminary.

Classes began in 1817 “for the purpose of educating youths of Heathen nations, with a view to their being useful in their respective countries.”

Its object was to educate the youth of promising talent and of hopeful demeanor to return, in due time, to their respective lands in the character of husbandmen, school-masters, or preachers of the gospel.

The first four destinations chosen were (1) the Bombay region of India (1813,) (2) Ceylon (1816,) (3) the Cherokee Indian Nation in the State of Tennessee (1817) and (4) Hawai‘i (1820). (Brumaghim)

The Foreign Mission School connects the town of Cornwall, Connecticut to a larger, national religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening.

The Second Great Awakening spread from its origins in Connecticut to Williamstown, Massachusetts; enlightenment ideals from France were gradually being countered by an increase in religious fervor, first in the town, and then in Williams College.

In the summer of 1806, in a grove of trees, in what was then known as Sloan’s Meadow, Samuel John Mills, James Richards, Francis L Robbins, Harvey Loomis and Byram Green debated the theology of missionary service. Their meeting was interrupted by a thunderstorm and they took shelter under a haystack until the sky cleared.

That event has since been referred to as the “Haystack Prayer Meeting” and is viewed by many scholars as the pivotal event for the development of Protestant missions in the subsequent decades and century.

The first American student missionary society began in September 1808, when Mills and others called themselves “The Brethren,” whose object was “to effect, in the person of its members, a mission or missions to the heathen.” (Smith) Milla graduated Williams College in 1809 and later Andover Theological Seminary.

In June 1810, Mills and James Richards petitioned the General Association of the Congregational Church to establish the foreign missions. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was formed with a Board of members from Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School exemplified evangelical efforts to recruit young men from indigenous cultures around the world, convert them to Christianity, educate them and train them to become preachers, health workers, translators and teachers back in their native lands.

Initially lacking a principal, Edwin Welles Dwight filled that role from May 1817 to May 1818; he was replaced the next year by the Reverend Herman Daggett. In its first year, the Foreign Mission School had 12 students, seven Hawaiians, one Hindu, one Bengalese, an Indian and two Anglo-Americans.

The school’s first student was Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia (Obookiah,) a native Hawaiian from the Island of Hawaiʻi who in 1807 (after his parents had been killed) boarded a sailing ship anchored in Kealakekua Bay and sailed to the continent. In its first year, the Foreign Mission School had 12 students, more than half of whom were Hawaiian.

The school increased its number of pupils the second year to twenty-four; four Cherokee, two Choctaw, one Abenaki, two Chinese, two Malays, a Bengalese, one Hindu, six Hawaiians and two Marquesans as well as three American. By 1820, Native Americans from six different tribes made up half of the school’s students.

Once enrolled, students spent seven hours a day in study. Subjects included chemistry, geography, calculus and theology, as well as Greek, French and Latin.

They were also taught special skills like coopering (the making of barrels and other storage casks), blacksmithing, navigation and surveying. When not in class, students attended mandatory church and prayer sessions and also worked on making improvements to the school’s lands. (Cornwall)

In due time, Reverend Hiram Bingham visited the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall but that wasn’t until May 1819, one year after ʻŌpūkahaʻia died.

Then, from Andover Theological Seminary, Bingham wrote in a letter dated July 18, 1819, to Reverend Samuel Worcester that “the unexpected and afflictive death of Obookiah, roused my attention to the subject, & perhaps by writing and delivering some thoughts occasioned by his death I became more deeply interested than before in that cause for which he desired to live …”

“… & from that time it seemed by no means impossible that I should be employed in the field which Henry had intended to occupy…the possibility that this little field in the vast Pacific would be mine, was the greatest, in my own view.” (Brumaghim)

Subsequently, in the summer of 1819, Bingham and his classmate at Andover Theological Seminary, Reverend Asa Thurston, volunteered to go with the first group of missionaries to Hawai‘i.

On October 23, 1819, a group of northeast missionaries, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) With the missionaries were four Hawaiian students from the Foreign Mission School, Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, John Honoliʻi and Prince Humehume (son of Kauaʻi’s King Kaumuali‘i.)

The Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in giving instructions to the pioneers of 1819 said:

“Your mission is a mission of mercy, and your work is to be wholly a labor of love. … Your views are not to be limited to a low, narrow scale, but you are to open your hearts wide, and set your marks high.”

“You are to aim at nothing short of covering these islands with fruitful fields, and pleasant dwellings and schools and churches, and of Christian civilization.” (The Friend)

The points of special and essential importance to all missionaries, and all persons engaged in the missionary work are four:
• Devotedness to Christ;
• Subordination to rightful direction;
• Unity one with another; and
• Benevolence towards the objects of their mission

Between 1820 and 1848, the ABCFM sent “eighty-four men and one hundred women to Hawai‘i to preach and teach, to translate and publish, to advise and counsel – and win the hearts of the Hawaiian people.” (Dwight; Brumaghim)

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